Markus had to dive out of a screaming tail's path, the appendage sticking into the stone floor where he had been not a moment before with a powerful 'thik'! Markus caught himself against a pillar, trying to steady his body as the other unstuck Scorpion scuttled across the barren floor, chasing the men who futily tried to keep at it bay with archaic pole weapons. The cutthroat with a dismembered arm vaguely shambled along, searching for his lost arm. Markus could tell he was in shock, but he guessed it didn't matter. He seemed unaware of his surroundings, showcased by when the Scorpion passed him again and casually clipped him in half with it's massive pincer, causing his comrades to cry out in alarm. 

Markus turned and saw Calliope stab the monster in its 'torso' area from the otherside of the beast. He pushed off from the pillar and charged it just as its stinger flew free, 'whapping' against the ceiling above. It turned to swipe at Calliope, but the sorceress had already danced back. The blademage leaped, his Morcedyvve blade leading with a powerful chop to the thing's leg, like into the thickest part of its patella. He only cracked a bit of the ligament, but foul pus began to leak out of its appendage. 

The thing suddenly scuttled backwards, crawling right over Markus to flatten him. The swordsman was bowled over onto the floor, smelling the thing's horrible odor and seeing the alien-like smaller arms working independently like tiny machines. He nearly gagged, knowing he hadn't a moment to spare. He thrust his sword up into the thing's thorax, and the Scorpion emitted a high pitched screech and raised itself further above the floor to rend the blade out of itself. 

Markus obliged, pulling his sword out and rolling out from under the thing before it crushed him. He coughed, and saw Calliope grinning wickedly as she watched it writhe in pain, loose strands of hair flowing before her eyes. She uttered a word of command, her voice gaining a thaumaturgical air as it boomed. Markus saw the things blood escape it that much quicker, crawling along the ground towards Calliope as if it had a mind of its own. 

The Scorpion was not dead yet, however. It wrenched its body forward in an attempt to snip Calliope in half, the woman trying to regain her sensibilities from her spell as she tried to dodge. Markus shouted 'Cresco!' uttering the oral command for increasing the cutting power of his sword. He suddenly disappeared from where he had been laying, as if he'd put on a ring of invisibility. Instead Calliope saw him appear half a dozen feet above the charging scorpion. Markus placed his free hand behind the hilt of his sword and fell, letting gravity do his job for him. 

His sword pierced exoskeleton and inner flesh at the base of the thing's "skull," sticking it into the floor. Its body didn't register it was even dead at first, still moving three strides before it let out a pitiful escape of air, its body collapsing to the floor. Ripping the blade out of the beast, a spurt of ichor flew up and stained his shirt. He seemed not to care. 

"Are you hurt?" He asked his First Mate, wiping his chin with the back of his arm. "We should go through where these things came from. It's the only way forward, I think."